Triggering the Strategic Decision-Making Process

In one case, after a detailed study of production processes, market forecasts and possible plant locations, top management of the industrial instruments division of a large US corporation approved a plan to produce a certain line of instruments. Why did these items (and not others) catch the attention of someone in the organisation and become the subject of a strategic decision-making process? Why did this process start when it did (and not earlier or later)? In another case, a governmental committee did not approve a suggestion that working women receive a tax reduction as an incentive to increase female participation in the labour force. Why did the committee consider the suggestion at all? In a third case, at a luncheon meeting, an engineer suggested to the president of a manufacturing company that a plant be set up in a certain under developed country. The president rejected the idea out of hand, without bringing it up within his organisation. Why use a strategic decision-making process never even initiated? An organisation's opportunities for making strategic decisions[1] are practically unlimited. However, in only a few cases does the decision-making process actually begin, and the number of strategic decisions eventually made by top management is even fewer. What triggers the decision-making process? And how can top management achieve greater control over the triggering action?.